Because there’s always a little hint or tip that we’ve picked up along the way
- Don’t distribute handouts at the beginning or during your talk. People will read them rather than listen to you. Mention at the outset the handouts will be available after the talk so that the listeners don’t have to take notes.
- Do distribute handouts at the start if you have an international audience who’s English may not allow them to understand your speech ‘live’.
- Do remind the audience of unfamiliar definitions or jargon before you use them in your speech and don’t assume that everyone in the audience understand the things that you assume.
- Deliberate repetition is good and helps an audience remember your key themes for ever. Accidental repetition of pointless data is dull and shows a lack of preparation or thought by the presenter.
- Don’t discount or undermine your presentation, your profession or yourself. It reduces your credibility to no benefit.
- Complete your talk in less than your allotted time. Leave more time for questions and discussion with the audience.
- When you are asked a question, it’s a good idea to restate the question for the audience and to check that it’s really a question not just someone looking to make a point themselves.
- Plan to stay a while after your talk. People often want to talk with you about what you’ve said and tell you what they think.
- After your talk, check how you did with the audience, ask them what else they need to know, what you’ve missed, how you can do better next time. Make notes about the experience and what you’ve learned to use in the next one.
- Remember that every presentation can be better and treat triumph and tragedy as opportunities to learn!
